Charging Hooda, Vora with money laundering absurd: Congress

 The Congress on Tuesday dubbed as "political vendetta" and "absurd" the money laundering charge slapped against Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and senior party leader Motilal Vora by the Enforcement Directorate.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told the media: "(It is) vendetta politics."

He was responding to a question on the ED invoking money laundering charges against the Congress party-promoted AJL, Hooda and Vora.

The National Herald newspaper and AJL were started during the freedom struggle, Sharma said.

"Those are the properties not owned by any individuals or the Congress or anybody who can be a beneficiary. So invoking money laundering charge is rather absurd."

He said the charge would be thrown out by the courts.

Sharma said the AJL published the National Herald, Quami Aawaz and Navjivan newspapers.

Under law and executive policy, national or regional papers can be allotted land, he said.

"And if you do a survey of these buildings which have been allotted land and whether any one else is using it or some parties are using it as commercial space, then the answer is yes," he said.

"So this should be taken in a holistic way. Why is AJL being singled? That is not fair."

Asked about this charge and the Income Tax department attaching the properties of Haryana Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi, Sharma said: "It is being done because Haryana elections are coming.

"As the elections are there, then they need to take aim. First they will feed you with nationalism, polarization, religion based politics and allegations."

The Congress leader said that if these issues were not there, "then the people will question the BJP over employment and economy". 

"So to avoid these questions, these narratives are raised ahead of elections." IANS